Ahimsa

Part of speech: noun

Pronunciation: /əˈhɪmsɑː/

Definitions

1. The principle of non-violence and non-harm toward all living beings, emphasizing compassion and the avoidance of injury in thought, speech, and action
2. The practice of refraining from causing harm or injury to any living creature through intentional thought, word, or deed
3. A spiritual and ethical doctrine centered on avoiding violence and cultivating compassion toward all sentient life forms

Etymology: Sanskrit "ahiṃsā" is built from the negative prefix "a-" and "hiṃsā," meaning injury, violence or harm, so the whole term is literally the absence of harm. The root behind "hiṃsā" is linked to the idea of striking or hurting, which is why the word has always carried a sense of active injury that the practice is meant to avoid. In the Indian religious traditions where the word arose, non-harm is a foundational principle, and it appears in Hindu, Buddhist and Jain thought. Jainism in particular made it the central ethical duty, extending it to the smallest living beings, which is why the concept is often associated with that tradition. English borrowed the term directly from Sanskrit, and it entered the language through discussions of Indian religion and, later, the nonviolent political movements that drew on it, most famously in the twentieth century. Its use in English has remained tied to that religious and political vocabulary rather than to everyday speech.

Synonyms: nonviolence, pacifism, peacefulness, harmlessness, non-injury

Antonyms: violence, aggression, harm, hostility, belligerence